The 30-million word gap

Are you aware of why children of professional parents are more successful than those whose parents did not finish high school? The reason is nutrition — not the food that we commonly know that sustains our physical hunger, but language nutrition that supports our brain center of communication. And this language nutrition should be a priority during the first three years of life.

The two big ways of providing advance language nutrition are 1) talking to a baby up to 3 years old at about 35 words a minute (or 2,100 words per hour), and 2) reading books to them as often as possible. Those children who never had books in their household or whose parents and caregivers were not talkative during their first 36 months are already in a deep hole as to their chance of having a successful career, or owning a house or big savings in their bank account.

The gap between the children who had books in their household and those who had none is huge: to the tune of 30 million words. Children whose parents are professionals have heard 43 million words by the time they are 3 years old. Children whose parents hold blue-collar jobs have heard 24 million words, and those who grew up in poverty have heard only 11 million words.

By the time they reach the third grade, children should be able to read. Those who cannot read by that time have a lesser chance of finishing high school or college and landing a good-paying job.

Words are the basic tool of communication. The more words children learn, the higher their chances of understanding their teacher.

Unfortunately, there are many barriers to overcome, such as poverty; proliferation of cell phones, tablets, and television; parents who are not aware of the importance of books at home; and schools who cannot afford books for all of their students.

A month ago I visited an elementary school in Barangay Santa Cruz-Bigaa in our town of Lezo in Aklan. I delivered a short talk to the fourth-grade children and told them of the importance of reading and opening their dictionary from Monday to Friday, reading one word a day, and knowing its meaning.

I then asked the children if they had a dictionary at home. Some of them did not know what a dictionary is. So I explained to them what it is, and their teacher showed them a large thick dictionary which she took from a bookshelf.

Here’s an important family activity involving young children: parents reading baby books to them three times a day, or as often as possible, starting as early as when the kids are 4 months old. If both parents are working, they should request their babysitter to read books and limit TV and screen time to only 30 minutes for children older than 3 years old. Under 3, no TV, tablet, or cell phone.

One good predictor of school success or failure is the amount of words that the children know on the day they enter elementary school. It is true that a child goes to school to learn new words; however, her or his vocabulary determines how much she or he will understand the teacher.

During the first four years of school, most instructions are done orally. Children with lesser vocabulary are already hampered in their learning; those with a large vocabulary will leave them behind academically.

All teachers and health professionals should tell parents the importance of reading to children books from infancy and talking to them at 35 words a minute for the first three years of their life.

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Leonardo L. Leonidas, MD ([email protected]), retired in 2008 as assistant clinical professor in pediatrics from Boston’s Tufts University School of Medicine, where he was recognized with a Distinguished Career in Teaching Award in 2009. He is a 1968 graduate of the University of the Philippines College of Medicine.